Woodworking machine



Sept 13,1932- w. I OEFFLER l wooDwoRKING MACHINE Sept. 13, 1932. W, LOEFFLER 1,876,987.

WOODWORKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8, 1929 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 'ein 5 Sept. 13,. 1932.. w. I OEFFLER wooDwoRKING MACHINE Filed Nov.. e, 1929 v Smets-sheet 4 Sept. 13, 1932. W, LOEFFLER 1,876,987

' wooDwoRKLNG MACHINE Filed Nov? 8. 1929 7 Sheets-Shefed'I 5 MLUEff/Ez" M4 'Sept-.13, 1932-.' w. LOEFFLER 1,876,987

wooDwoRKING MACHINE.

Filed Nov., 8. 1929 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 j i .MLJff/"ZEF- sept. 13, 1932. WQOEFIFLER 1,876,987

WODWORKING MACHINE Filed No3-f. a, 1929 7 sheets-sheet 7 Patented Sept. 13, 1932v w'arLLrAivr rnourrrnn\,for SHEBOYGAN, wisconsin woonwohirme MACHINE Afpiiiifin ieafib'veintr s, 192e, sriai ire. leases.

from the machine, reversing thepo'sitio'n of i C the work and returning itr to "the machine in a very short space of time. I Another object of my invention istheprovision of a returnffederfor wood working machines wherein. the pieces being "operated upon are received from the wood working niachine, automatically turned'y over and returned to the woodworkingmachine, the d'evice including meansl to prevent tumbling or rolling of the piecesv` as their position is being reversed. i f Y i A further object of the invention is the provision of a machine of theab'ove' character wherein the operative parts thereof may quickly and readily adjusted to accommodate material of different 'sizes'so 'that `re'gardless of the size of the material being 'operated upon it can Vbe quicklyfaiid easily reversed as to its position and returned to the `wood working machine.`

A vstill further object of the invention is the provision of novel belt feedin'gmeans for the operating mechanism which reverses the position 'of the pieces from the wood working l iiimanother step inthe operation;

LA igure l0 is` a detail sectionat right machine,4 whereby the different vpieces will be readily g Y y A I chine into the reversing mechanism and vfrom the reversing nieclianisrnb'ack to the wood working machine.

A still further `olijectof the invention is i the provision of'a return-feeder'wherein the several parts operate consecutivelyso' that as soon as a plank or piece of materialxoperated upon is `received onto vthe return-feeder it is quickly reversed and o'n its V.return movement to the wood workingfmachine. Another object ofthe invention i'sfthe provision of a return-feederjof the .above character including in its construction A`novel means forY engaging thetiinbers during vtheir turning or reverse movement so as to' prevent the "timbers from feiiitg ,di 1.

" min-geo that they winner be marie freier pegaron versed beyond 'thedesired ainount',l said means being movably 'Inouiitedso that it wfill read ily 'engage ferent sizes.

and. operate vupon timbers ofy difthe inventionconsists in the'iiovelffeatures of construction, the combination and arrangementv of parts hereinafteriiire fiilly set forth, pointed out in thefcla'iiifisca'nd shown inthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 `isa top plan view of a retur`nfeeder constructed in accordance with iny invention Figure 2 is a sideele'vationi Figure is a g front 'elevation 'itil @its broken awa to villustrate the reversing *I'reohfeed and return belts for the work v anisni, the

with their moved;

K Figure 4c y of the shafts and their connections supporting structure being reis a plan view of the arrangement riguretisa detaiisecuoniii arranger@ release mechanism in its'iirst step;

Figure 6 is a-y view similar to Fig re 5,*illus- Figure 7 is an enlarged detail with parts;` in sectionv illustrating ythe step f similar to Figure 5; v.

Figure 8 is a detail-sectional view aft right angles to Figure 6;

VFigure 9 isa detailsectioiial illustrataii gles to Figure 5,A showing the releasefin-clianism in a similar position;

Fgiur@ itis a sementi view o ii' thelist i`i`ii or Figure 2,' illustrating one steph. l

v'Figure' l2-is a viewisiiiiilaito Figure; ll,

a step vfollowing':that sliowi in `rk'xleasii ig and operating mechanis'iiifor the positioning arms;

igure'k-ll4nis a of uit mesas which jreiesesthe 'cli i operating". 13;

Figure is an elevation of one face of one of the clutch members;

Figure 16 is an elevation illustrating one face of the other clutch member which cooperates with the members shown in Figure 15 igure 17 is a detail side elevation of the timber engaging arm which engages the timber to assist in reversing its position, illustrating the arm in one position;

Figure 18 is a view similar to Figure 17, illustrating the timber engaging arm in another position;

Figure 19 is a view illustrating another position of the arm with the contact member engaging the timber to prevent rolling or turning of the same; and,

Figure is an enlarged view of the return belt illustrating al timber in position about to be returned to the jointer or other wood working machine.

ln the construction of my return-feeder, l provide a plurality of supporting 1, upon which is mounted a suitable table-like platform 2 provided at one side withan npstanding wall 3. A t the front of the table and between two of the legs 1, l provide a transverse bracket 4 carrying a bearing` 5 which supports the stub drive shaft 6. The outer end of this shaft carries a pulley' 7 adapted to be connected to any source of power supply and mounted on the shaft afljacent the pulley is a pinion 8.

ll/leshing with the pinion 8 is a gear wheel 9 on the shaft 10, supported in suitable bearings beneath the table top and provided at its inner-end with a sprocket 11 operably connected to a sprocket 12 carried by the clutch member 13. The clutch member 13 is loosely mounted upon the main operating shaft 14, one end of which is mounted in a suitable bearing in the bracket 4, and the other end mounted in a suitable bearing adjacent the rear end of the table. Keyed to the shaft 14 is a sleeve 15 carrying a clutch section 16 adapted to cooperate with the clutch section 13 for rotating shaft 14.

The sleeve 15 and clutch section 16 are normally urged toward the clutch member 13 by means of a coil spring 17 on shaft 14 bctween one end of the sleeve 15 and a collar 18 carried by the sh aft.

However, the clutch section 16 is held out of engagement with the clutch section 13, against the tension of spring 17, by means of a pivoted arm 19, engaging stud 2O on the sleeve 15. One end of this arm 19 is pivotally mounted on a depending arm 21 carried by the U-shaped bracket 22. rlhe U-shaped bracket 22 is connected in any suitable manner to the longitudinal ribs 23 of the table top 2. rl`he inner end of the arm 19 is reduced and is slidably mounted within a guide 24 which prevents lateral movement of the arm, and due to the reducing of the outer end of the arm, a cam face 25 is formed which is adapted to be engaged by the pin 20 during the rotation of the shaft 14 to disengage the clutch faces 13 and 16.

At the front of the return-feeder, l provide suitable mechanism for guiding and feeding the pieces of work into the reverse mechanism and for carrying the work from the reverse mechanism and in order to drive this mechanism, the shaft 10 carries a bevel gear 26 cooperating with a similar gear 27 on shaft 28. This shaft 28 has mounted upon one end thereof sprockets 29, 30 and 31, the sprocket 29 being operatively connected with a similar sprocket 32 on the transverse shaft 33. On shaft 33, at one end thereof, are

l the bevel gears 34 which mesh with similar gears 35 for rotating the drive pulleys 36 for the belt feeder. These pulleys 36 are arranged in spaced relation and mounted in vertical position within suitable brackets 37.

' Similar pulleys 38 are mounted in brackets 39 and around the pulleys 36 and 38 pass the belts 40. It will be noted that the brackets 37 and 39 are adjustably connected by means of the two-piece connecting bar 41, whereby the relative positions of pulleys 38 may be varied in accordance with the feed desired.

It will be noted that one of the belts 40 is provided with a y tightener, including crossed pivoted arms 42 with the one end of each arm carrying a roller 43 adapted to engage the inner run of the belt, while the otherk ends of the arms are connected by means of a Vcoil spring 44, normally urging the rollers 43 toward each other so as to normally exert an outward pressure on the inner run of the belt to cause it to securely grip a piece of work fed in between the two belts and as the belts are moving at Vacomparatively fast rate of speed, the work will be effectively carried therethrough.

It will be noted that this structure is du-y plicated on the opposite side of the table for carrying the work from the reversing mechanism back to the woodworking machine and at one side of the table, the belts are rotating in one direction, feeding the piece of work toward the reversing mechanism and at the other side of the table, the belts 40 are moving in the opposite direction carrying the work from the reversing mechanism back to the jointer, or other wood working machine.

The seconds-et of pulleys and belts for carrying the work from the reversing mechanism back to the woodworking machine are operated from a shaft 45 parallel with shaft 33 and carrying a pinion 46 at one end which' meshes with a similar pinion 47 on shaft 33. The shaft 45 carries bevel gears 34 which mesh with similar gears 35 for driving'the second set of belts which return the piece of'work to the ointer, it being understood that the second set of belts, mountings, and tightener being of the same construction as the first set. Y y v As the piece of timber is fed inwardly by the movable belts 46, at one side of the machine, as indicated in Figure l, the timbers will be directed between suitable guides 46 at one side of the table. At the front end of the guides 46, l mount two opposed contact rollers 47 and 48. The Contact roller 47 is mounted within an upstanding U-shape-d bracket 49 carried by the table l and within the bracket is a` shaft 50 extending vertically kthe cut away part 71, as shown in Figures 5 through the bracket and through the roller 47. yThe lower end of this shaft carries a bevel gear i, meshing witha similar gear 52 on shaft 53. On the inner end of shaft 53 is a sprocket 55 operatively connected with a sprocket on shaft l0 whereby a continuous rotation is imparted to roller 47 through lthe connection of shaft with drive shaft 6.

rlhe bracket 56 which supports roller 48 also carries a shaft having on its lower end a bevel gear 5l adapted KVtomesh with a similar gear 52 on shaft 53 which lies parallel with shaft 53. Shaft 53 is provided with a sprocket 57 on its forward end operatively connected with a sprocket 58 on the forward end of shaft 53 whereby the two rollers 47 and will be rotated simultaneously. y

'lhe supporting bracket-56 for roller 48 is mounted upon an inverted U-shaped supporting lement 59 which is'rockably mounted upon shaft 53 as is clearly illustrated in Figure 7. The bearing for one end of the ele'- ment 59 has an 60 oepending downwardly therethrough. The arm 60 has a laterally extensi on 6l carrying and engaging flange 62. Extending through the lateral extension 5lv is a rod 63 supported within a stationary bracket "4 depending from the frame work of the'table top. Y

Normally, the arm 60 is urged outwardly from the bracket 64 so` that the roller 48 is normally maintained in an inclined position, as shown in Figure 3, and this arm is retained in a normal. operative position by means of va coil spring 65 mounted upon rod 63 and adjusted between the bracket 64 and flanged eX- tension 61.

l-lowever, when a piece of timber passes between rollers 47 and 48 and moves roller 48 outwardly to a substantially vertical position,

karm 60 is moved inwardly against the tension of spring 65, engagingiange 62 with a hooked member 66, which extends laterally from pivoted arm 67. The arm 67 is loosely mounted upon rod 68 carried b-y bracket 64 normally urged inwardly toward the bracket by means of a coil spring 69 which is disposed between the 67 andwasher 70 on rod 68.

Arm 67 is provided upon its inner face with a cut away portion 7l, the upper edge ofsaid cut away portion having an inclined shoulder '"f) lt will be y noted that .the opening face adapted to cooperate with the inclined S shoulder 72 on arm 67. The forward end of 4he bar 73 is adapted for engagement within and l0.

The innerend of bar 73 is disposedbe-f-O neath arm 19, as shown in Figures 4 and-12, and upon pivoted movement of bar.` 7 3 through an operation that will be hereinafter more fully described, arm 19 is raised to release sleeve l5 for engaging clutch section '16 ,with the clutch section i3.

lt will be apparent from the foregoing that when the roller 48 is engaged by a timber, it will be forced outwardly with respect to the roller 47 moving the depending arm 60 inwardly until the flange 62 is positioned behind hook member 66. This movement placlngsprln 0' .65 under tension, as shown inFigure5.

er 48, the same will spring back to its -normallyinclinod position due to the tension of spring 65. TWhen the roller returns to its normal position., member 60 will move outwardly from the bracket 64 tilting arm 67 to i100 the position shown in Figure 7. This immediately releases bar 73 and allows the forward end thereof to drop downwardly to the position shown in Figure 7. This pivotal movement of the bar 7 3 is urged upwardly by L05 to the-dotted line position shown in Figure i ll, disengaging the 'arm from the stud 20 allowing the sleeve l5 -to move longitudinally on shaft 14, through the tensionof spring 17, until the clutch section 16 engages the clutch section l3, thus imparting a ment to shaft 14.

lt will be noted that sleeve l5 has a 77 ecting therefrom adjacent the stud 20 and l this tin engak s a substantiall.7

U-shaped member 78 carried by the outer end '120 of a pivoted tr-m17 9. AMnis arm 7 9 is pivoted on the depending :m 2l of bracket 22 and v.normally maintained in a raised position by means of a coil spring 80, one end of which is connected to arm 7 9, and the other end cony125 79 moves downwardly, it will engage bar 7 3, 13"

However, as soon as the timber passes rolll5 rotative f move- 115 as shown in Figure 9, rocking the bar 73 upon its pivot against the tension of spring 76.

As soon as the bar 7 3 begins to rock upon its pivot, the forward end thereof will move upwardly and engage within the cut away part 71 with the inclined forward wall of the notch 74 on bar 73 cooperating with shoulder 72 to rock the arm 67 upon its pivot and against the tension of spring 72 disengaging hook 66 from flange 62, the spring 69 now forces arm 67 toward bracket 64 to engage bar 73 with h ook or shoulder 71 Yon arm 67 so that bar 7 3 remains in locked position engaged with shoulder 71', holding bar 7 3 downward on the forward end and against the tension of spring 76. Flange 66 on arm 67 is now in Contact with shoulder 62 on arm 60 because of the room between the shoulder 72 and the incline on the forward end of bar 7 3. As soon. arm 60 moves inwardly towards bracket 64, the tension of spring` 72 will rock the arm 67 forward and hook 66 over flange 62 so when the arm 69 a g ...in moves out-warthit will again di en( bar 73 and it is then again in position described.

lt will be apparent from the foregoing, that each time a timber has passed between rollers 47 and 48 and been positioned between the guides 46, one revolution willhavo been. imil arted to shaft 14. lt will be noted that during the revolution of the shafiL 14, the stud 20 will move into engagement with the cam face 25 of arm 19 and discngage the clutch face, it being apparent that as soon as bar 78 is moved dov vardlf by ai i 79, the arm 19 will drop back in its operative position, shown in Figures 1l and 12. thus the cam face 25 may be readily engaged for disconnecting the clutch fac-es and as the reduced end of arin 19 is dispos'. within guide 24, the sleeve 15 will be positively moved upon shaft 14.

ln order that the timbers may be m-oved upwardly between the guides 46 so that they will be deposited upon the inclined supporting element 81, l provide novel raising means which includes a shaft 82 supported in suitable bearings 89 and carrying a plurality of sprockets 84. An idler shaft 85 is supported above in adjustable tighteners and in parallel. relation with shaft 82, as shown in Figures 2 and 3a The idler shaft 85 also carries a plurality of sprockets 84 which are operatively connected with sprockets 84 by means of the chains 86, At spaced interva s, the chains carry suitable hook-like ari-ns on flights 87 which are normally positioned at the lo edge of the guides 46 ready to engage the lower edge of a timber L le guides between so that as soon as the shaft 14 moves one revolution, the two shafts 82 and 85 will be simultaneously rotated moving one of the arms 87 from the lowermost position upwardly to the top of the guides, carrying the timber to the top of the guides where it will engage the pivotally mounted retaining arm 88 and drop downwardly onto the inclined supporting platform 81.

The shafts 82 and 85 are operated simultaneously from shaft 14 by forming operative connection between sprocket 89 on shaft 14 and sprocket 90 on shaft 82, thus operatively connecting the shafts 14 and 82 whereby simultaneous movement will be imparted to all three shafts.

The arm 88 is pivot-ally mounted upon a vertical slidable bar 91 and the inclined position of arm 88 is adjusted by means of the threaded rod 92, threaded through a perforated ear 93 on the upper end of the arm. rl`he lower end of the arm 88 is preferably provided with a. weight 94 to normally urge this arm to a downward position or to a normally inclined position as clearly shown in Figures 8 and 19. The particular purpose for this arm is to prevent the timbers from rolling or tumbling as they are deposited upon the inclined ala-tform 81. lt will be apparent that if it were not for this arm, some of the timbers which might be substantially rectangular in shape would have a tendency to roll or tumble when deposited on the inclined platform and would not bereturned to the ointer machine in th-e proper position.

ln order to assist the timbers in being de` posited upon the inclined platform 81, l pro vide the upwardly extending bracket 95 upon which is pivotally mounted the rockable arm 96. rllhe lower end of this arm 96 is formed with a camface 97 and above the cam face is the curved recess 98 with a rounded shoulder 99 just above the recess. lt will be noted that the upper end of arm 96 is yieldably connected to a lateral extension on bracket 95 by means of a coil spring 109. rlhis coil spring normally urges the cam face 97 into position between the guides 46 where it is to be engaged by a timber passing upwardly through the guides. The relative position of the cam face 97 is controlled by means of an adjustable bolt 101, engaging the upper end of arm 96.

From the above, it will be apparent that as a timber is mov-ed upwardly between the guides 46, it will engage the cam face 97 moving the lower end of arm 96 laterally until the timber has passed upwardly beyond the extended point 102, and thence engages the rounded shoulder 99, causing the upper edge of the timber to be guided laterally onto the inclined platform 81, and as soon as the upper edge of the timber moves away from the shoulder 99, the lower end of arm 96, through the tension of spring 100 will return to its normal position causing the lower edge of the timber to ride upwardly into the curved portion 98 and to be moved to the position, shown by the full lines in Figure 19, the

vdotted line position of the timber illustrating be readily adjusted in order yto properly po-l the proper position it will assume on the in-` clined platform 81. p ln the case of small timbers, and particularly small rectangular timbers, the upper :edge jthereof will: not enga-gc the rounded shoulder 99, but the :lower edge thereof will ride upwardly toward the curved .portion 98, as illu :tinted in Figures 17 and 18, and the tilting action will be completed, as shown in flligure 19.

As soon as the timber `has rbeen properly positioned upon the inclined platform 81, it

table top by means of the bolts'105. Movable beneath the vertical guide board 103, is the return belt 106 operating .over pulleys 107 and 108, the pulley .107being mounted upon the shaft 109 insuitable bearings 110 at the Youter end of the table, while pulley 108 is mounted upon shaft 111, supported in suitable bearings 112, at the front o'f the-table.

rllhe shaft l111 has upon its outer'end a sprocket 113 operatively connected i to sprocket on shaft28 whereby shaft 111 is ccntinuously rotated '.to impart vmovement to belt 106. As soon as the timbers have enc ged the guide board 103, .pivoted `arms 114 nelly positioned vwithin slots 115 in the platform l31 are .moved upwardly to a ver-V tical. position, Vas shown by the dott-ed lines in Figure 3, properly positioning the timber upon .celt 106 so that it may be Vreadily returned tothe jointer machine through' the second set .of belts 40.

The operation lfor imparting movement to the swinging arms 114 at the proper time for correctly positioning the timber upon the belt 106 will now be more fullydescribed. It will be noted that the forward end of shaft 14 carries a collar 116 having a cam lug 117 adapted to engage the cam surface 118 lon piyoted arm 119. This arm 119 is provided with a recess portion adjacent its outer `end forming an upright shoulder adapted to cooperate with the cam .lug 117, as shown vin FigureV 3. The vend of the arm 119 opposite the cam face 118, is provided with llateral extension 120 normally positioned for engagement by a finger 121 carried by a frictional clutch .member 122. Thisfrictional clutch 122 is formed in two separate parts, with one part being formed with a plurality of recesses 123 adapted to be engaged byv oppositely disposed :studs 124 on the other part ofthe clutch whereby the two parts .may

sition the lingers 121k and .125, a linger being carried by each separable part of the .clutch member.

`The -clutch member 122 includes-thefmain clutch element 122, and the movable clutch'V element 122, both being mounted upon sha-ft 126 withI clutchY element 122 keyed to and. rotating with the shaft, while the main clutchV element 122 remains stationary and held in this positionthrou gh the engagement of arm 119 with linger 121. f

The element 122 carries a friction disc l127 adapted tocooperate with one face of the element 122 for rotating the same when the arm 1191's released from finger 121. `The clutch faces are normally maintained in contact by ineens.. of acoil spring 128 mounted on a shaft 126l and .disposed between colla-r 129 and clutch element122. .It will t-husv be apparent that upon each rotation of shaft 14, camlug 117 will be rotated, engage cam face 118, moving the left end of the bar-119, as shown lin Figure 3, downwardly, disengaging lateral extensions 120 from linger 121, allowy ing the clutch member 122 to rotate with part 122. During the rotation of the clutch member, .the fingers engage the forward-end of pivoted bar 130. This bar 130 is pivotally mounted .upon a standard 131 on a suitable bracket-.132 carried by the main frame work of thefmachine.

The arms 114 are all mounted upon a longitudinal shaft 13.3 and at the forward end of :the shaft is attached a crank arm 134 connected to the `vert-ical movable link 135. W

The lower lend of link 135 is pivotally connectedtoa .plunger 136mounted in a cylinder 137. Thefplunger is provided with a collar.

138 and adjusted between the collar and the inner end of the cylinder is a coil spring 139 which normally reduces the plunger 136 downwardly so as to normally maintain the arms 114 in an inclined position, as shown in lFigure 3. The lower end of the plunger 136 carrie a roller 140 cooperating with a cam 141 carried by shaft 142 yand arranged adjacent one side ofaclutch section 143. The cam 141'and clutch section 143are keyed and rotate therewith, while clutch section 144 and pinion 145 are carried by a sleeve 146 loosely mounted on shaft 142.

This pinion `meshes with a pinion 147 on `shaft* 28, so that clutch section 144 is always rotating and ready to bel engaged iby clutch section 143 at the proper time. Keyed tothe shaft with the cam 141 isa collar 148 carryinga pin 149. Collar 148, cam 141 and clutchfsection 143 are slidably mounted upon for the shaft 142 and the collar 148. From this descriptiomit will be apparent that when linger `125 'engages the forward end of bar 130 and raisesthe same, it will release pin 149,"and ithroughthe tension of spring 150,

(the `clutch section 143 will be urged into .en-

gagement with clutch section 144, rotating shaft 142 for one complete revolution, and during this rotative movement of shaft 142, cam 141 will engage roller 140 reciprocating ,plunger 136 for rocking shaft 133, which in ioL-J-ly to be disengaged from bar 130, the bar will drop downwardly and as this bar carries a cam face'152 on member 153 carried by the arm, the pin 149 will engage this cam face, sliding the clutch section 143 on shaft 1513142 away from clutch section 144 and against the tension of spring 150. As soon as the shaft 142 has completed one revolution, cam 141 will be disengaged from roller 140 allowing plunger 136 to be moved downwardly 'through the tension of spring 139, returning arms 114 to their normal position, as shown in Figure 3.

In moving these arms 114 upwardly to properly position the timber on belt 106, it will be understood that these arms are only retained in position a very short space of time, and this time will be sufficient to cause the forward end. of the timber to be moved behind the guide member 46A at the front of the inclined platform 81 so that as soon as the timber is engaged between the guide member 46A and the vertical guide board 163, the timber can be readily guided back through the second set of belts 40 and be directed on its return to the jointer machine.

As will be noted in Figures 3 and 4, shaft 126 has mounted upon its outer end a sprocket 153 which is operatively connected with sprocket 31 upon shaft 28 whereby simultaneous movement will be imparted to shaft 126 with shaft 28 so that clutch member 122 can be operated at any time.

In order to securely retain arm 119 against lateral movement when engaged by nger 121, a stop plate 154 is attached to the `bearing 155 for cylinder 137, and this stop plate 154 projects downwardly from the bearin g 155 and guides arm 119 in its movement.

It will be apparent that in constructing and mount-ing the various parts of this machine, the parts, where found necessary, may be mounted for adjustment in accordance with the requirements. One of the essential parts which it is desired to have adjustably mounted is the bracket 56 which supports shaft 50 and roller 48. This bracket is mounted on shaft 53 and shaft 53 is mounted in slidable bearings 156 on the table and connected to the bearings is a screw member 157 adjustable in a stationary bracket 158 carried by the table top, and the screw 157 is operated by means of a hand wheel 159 whereby the roller 48 may be readily adjusted toward and away from roller 47 in accordance with the thickness of the timbers being passed through the machine. Itwill be readily apparent that when comparatively thin boards or timbers are to be passed through the r-ollers 47 and 48, the bearings 156 can be adjusted inwardly, butI if the timbers are com paratively thick, it will be essential that the bearings 156 be moved outwardly so as to accommodate the size of timbers between'tlie rollers.

The slidable bar 91 which carries the retaining arm 88 is formed with a longitudinal slot 160 and the upright wall 3 has engaged therewith a headed bolt 161 which isv positioned within the slot 160 whereby the arm 91 may be vertically adjusted to position the retaining arm 88 in accordance with the size of timbers to be deposited upon the inclined platform 81.

Another feature of this machine is the fact that regardless of the width of the boards or timbers being raised upwardly to be tilted and moved to a reverse position, is the fact that when wide boards are passed through the machine, the boards when being raised upwardly to be ydeposited on the inclined platform 81 will strike against the pivoted linger 162, and when wide boards are being passed through the machine, retaining arm 88 is forced upwardly raising 94 to a vertical position, which will return through its own weight to normal position after the timber has passed same, the boards or timbers readily passing upwardly and engaging the linger 162 which is normally maintained in an inclined position over the guides 46, by means of a flat spring 163 which is connected to a standard 164 on the table top and bears against the outer face of the finger to normally urge the same inwardly, as shown in Figure 3. Thus, when a board is moved upwardly, the upper edge thereof will engage this finger and be readily guided to a tilt-ing position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that l have provided a machine of the character set forth, which can be readily used in connection with mill working machines, such as jointer machines and the like, wherein it is necessary to pass the timbers through the jointer machine and then reverse the position of the timbers and return them to the machine for further operation. The timbers from the jointer machine will first pass through the left hand side of guide belts at the *upper side of Figure 1, and thence in the rollers 47 and 48, passing through these rollers int-o the guides 46 formed by the upstanding` wall 3 and the inner edge of the inclined platform 81. This operation, however, may be reversed if found desirable. As soon as the timbers pass rollers 47 and 48, shaft 14 is given a single revolution as previously described, moving the timbers upwardly and positioning them on the inclined platform 8l. After the timbers have moved downwardly over platform 81 onto the returnbelt 10G, the mechanism disclosed in Figure 13 will have passed through anvoperation, moving arms lll4 upwardly to a vertical position,

;so that the timber willbeheld in proper position to pass through guides 46A and to bev returned by the` lower side .of `belts 40 in Figure l, to the jolnter machine.

lt will be apparent from theforegoing that @in the operation of my improved machine,

the operation of the various parts follows successively one upon the other so that a board or other timber can be quickly received in the machine, its position reversed and the othermill working machines, and the `parts are so constructed and arranged Vand appar-` ently connected so that the operationswil quickly follow one another. f

l claim:

l. In a machine of the class described including work receiving passageways, means for conveying the work through said pas-J sageways, elevating means operative in one of said passageways for raising the work therein, means operated by the movement of the work in said latter passageway for controlling the raising means, an inclined wall upon which the work is discharged when raised in the first passageway and conveyed and means for straightening the work when' received in the second passageway.

8. A machine of the class described including work receiving'passageways, spaced rollers at one end of one of said passageways, means for rockably mounting one of said rollers, means controlled by the movement of the rockably mounted roller for discharging the work from the latter passageway after the work has passed therollers and been received within the passageway, means for guiding the work to the second passageway and means for returning the work through the second passageway.

4. A machine of the class described including spaced work receiving passageways, spaced rollers at one end of one of the passageways, means for rockably mounting one of said rollers and normally maintaining the same in an inclined position, whereby the work passing through said rollers will move the rockable roller to a substantially vertical position, means having operative connection timber quickly returned to the jointer or with' said rockable roller and adapted to bek actuatedthrough the movement of the rockable roller to its normal position after the"v vwork has'passed the same and enteredthe passageway, for moving,l the work upwardly in the passageway, guldmg means for guiding.

the work to the other passageway and means.

work to the second passageway, and means for;y

moving the workthrough the second passageway;

6. A work receiving passageway, a stationary guide roller at one end thereof,y a4 rockablel guide roller in opposed relation tov the stationary guide roller and normally in clining toward the rstroller, normally inoperative means for raising thework in said passageway, means for retaining saidraising means against movement, meansv actuated to the movement of the'rockable roller tol a vertical position when engaged by the work for releasing said raising means, and means for setting the. raising'meansA inV motion through the movement of the rockable'roller` toward a normal position after the work has been received inthe passageway, a work dis' charge passageway, and meansy for guiding` the work to the discharge passageway when discharged from the receiving passageway.

7.l A return work feeder for woodworking machines comprising a longitudinally eX- tending"V work-'feeding device for receiving the work from the woodworking machine, an

elevating device for the work located in rear ofthe work-feeding device, means automatically setting said elevatingr device in operi tion upon release of the work from the work feeding means, adownwardly inclined wall leadingfrom the upper end of theelevating device, means arranged in the `path `of the work being elevated for turning and depositingthe work on theinclined wall, means engaging the work on the inclined wall forpre-- venting tumbling ofthe work on said inclinedwall, and return means receiving the work from the inclinedwall for feeding the same towardthe woodworking machines.

8.' A returnwork feeder for woodworking machines comprising a longitudinally eX- tending work-feeding means' receiving the' wo-rk from the woodworkingn machines, an'

elevating device for the work located iny rear f I`said passageways, elevating means operative ingthe work on the inclined wall, weighted arms rockably mounted above the inclined wall for engaging the work deposited to prevent tumbling of said work sliding down the inclined wall, and return means receiving the work from the inclined wall for feeding the same toward the woodworking machine.

9. A return work feeder for woodworking machines including work rceciving passageways, spaced rollers at one end ot one of said passageways, means tor rockably mounting one of said rollers, means controlled by the movement of the rockably mounted roller for discharging the work from the latter passageway after the work has passed the rollers guiding the work to the second passageway,

Tand means for returning the work through the second passageway.

l0. A return work feeder for woodworking machines including work receiving passageways, means Jfior conveying work through in one of said passageways for elevating the work therein, means operated by the movement of the work in said latter passageway for turning the elevating means, an inclined L'wall upon which tbe werk is tlisrzbrrged arranged iiush with the surface ot the inclined wall, means for automatically swinging said arms to an upright position when the work reaches the lower end of the inclined wall and in said second passageway.

ll. A return work feeder for woodworking machines comprising work receiving passageways, means for conveying the work through said passageways, means for elevating the work when received in one of said passageways, an inclined wall adjacent to the latter passageway, means tor guiding the work onto the inclined wall when elevated in the first passageway for conveying the work to the second passageway, said guide means including pivoted spring-pressed arms having guide noses normally disposed in the path of the work being elevated, said guide noses having upper and lower oppositely inclined guide faces tor engaging the work.

12. A return work feeder for woodworking machines comprising spaced work receiving passageways, spaced rollers at one end et one ci the passageways, means ter rockably mounting one of said rollers and normally maintaining4 the same in an inclined position whereby the work passing through said rollers will move the rockable rocker to a substantially vertical position, elevating chains for the work arranged in rear of the receiving passageways and said rollers, and means having operative connection with said rockable roller and actuated through the movement ot the rockable roller to its normal position after the work has passed the same and entered the passageway for setting the elevating'chains in operation including a normally inoperative drive clutch, guide means tor guiding the work to the other passageway, and means for moving he work through the other passageway.

In testimony that l claim the 'foregoing l have hereunto set my hand at Sheboygan, in the county of Sheboygan and State of `Wis consin.

WILLIAM LOEFFLER. 

